In the light of the lockdown announced on 23rd March the live events that we had planned were postponed; but the good news is that the Creative Masterclass will now take place ONLINE on 12th June, booking is now live here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/think-harrogate-creative-masterclass-tickets-105789118100
The Harrogate Place Network meeting will also now be an ONLINE event – further details, agenda and how to get involved will be announced very soon.
Meantime members of the Harrogate Place Leadership Group have met four times since lockdown via Zoom. Here, Chair Mark Roberts explains why now, more than ever, we need to come together to help us move forward with strength.
“We launched “The Harrogate Story” on Monday 2nd March, in a World that felt very different to what it does today. The purpose for Think Harrogate was to draw together the key themes that make the Harrogate District so special, and to tell this as a compelling narrative to help make our wonderful place even better and also to help promote it far & wide. The story came from so many within our District who were involved in the project, who were all drawn together by a shared passion for special place.
Just 3 weeks later, and the UK entered lockdown. Covid-19 forced a fundamental re-evaluation of priorities, as the Nightingale Hospital emerged, and so many businesses were placed on hold. It would have been easy to put the Harrogate Story on hold as well, but instead members of our Harrogate Place Leadership Group have been meeting with Officers from Harrogate Borough Council, by Zoom of course, to discuss ways in which we can support each other in these very difficult times.
What became clear to all of us, is that the original intention and objectives of Think Harrogate are just as important today, and potentially more so, as the Harrogate District starts to emerge from lockdown. Every sector of our community is now thinking about how we can all get back up on our feet, and I think that those very themes which make our place so special, could also be the key to unlocking our recovery.
Over the last 10 weeks we’ve seen amazing grit, agility and entrepreneurial spirit from so many of our businesses within the Harrogate District. There are simply so many stories. Whilst we don’t know what the “new normal” will look like yet, I’m convinced that our communities and businesses within the Harrogate District can come back even stronger, even if it feels so very tough right now.
As we start to think about recovery, and then beyond, we need to find ways to come together and harness the amazing passion of so many people within our district. We are fortunate to have so many different groups who are all passionately trying to improve our place. I fundamentally believe that we can recover and emerge stronger, but to do this we need to find a way to come together, better co-ordinate our actions, and join forces to deliver against our most urgent priorities.
That’s why, we’ll be reaching out to all these hard-working yet diverse groups across the Harrogate District, to find and celebrate the commonality which does exist, and to help us move forward together with strength.“